Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship

01 · Historical Records

The predecessor of black tea making in the Fengqing area was a folk-explored indigenous method. The 'General Gazetteer of Yunnan' and the 'Gazetteer of Shunning Prefecture' record that villagers picked fresh tea, kneaded and covered it to redden it, and used it medicinally to treat intestinal ailments. This step accords in principle with later rolling and fermentation, judged entirely by feel.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Dianhong tea-making craft is a black tea-making craft that uses fresh leaves of the Yunnan large-leaf tea plant as raw material and is refined through multiple process steps; it is mainly practiced in nine townships and towns of Fengqing County, Yunnan Province: Fengshan Town, Dasi Township, Mengyou Town, Sanchahe Town, Xueshan Town, Lushi Town, Xiaowan Town, Luodang Town, and Yaojie Township. Dianhong tea mainly comprises raw maocha and refined tea series products; the finished products each have specific shape standards, with substantial body and even color, and when brewed show a bright red liquor with a prominent golden ring, a fresh and brisk aroma, and a strong, full taste. The Dianhong tea-making craft mainly consists of four process steps: withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying. First is withering: the fresh tea leaves undergo a period of natural water loss, a process that turns the stems and leaves into a wilted, withered state. Next is rolling: the withered fresh leaves are rolled so that the tea takes shape during rolling and the color, aroma, and taste concentration are enhanced, and the leaf cells are broken to facilitate the next step of fermentation. Then is fermentation: under the action of enzymes the leaf cells undergo oxidation, and the leaf color changes from green to reddish or cauliflower yellow. Finally is drying: the fermented tea base is baked at high temperature to rapidly evaporate moisture, reaching the drying degree that preserves quality, and acquiring the distinctive sweet aroma of Dianhong tea. The core characteristic of the Dianhong tea-making craft lies in 'controlling five checkpoints in initial making': the fresh-leaf selection checkpoint, the withering timeliness checkpoint, the rolling timeliness checkpoint, the fermentation timeliness checkpoint, and the drying firing checkpoint. Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, formerly called 'Shunning,' has a long history of planting, making, and drinking tea. According to the 'General Gazetteer of Yunnan' and the 'Gazetteer of Shunning Prefecture': villagers pick fresh tea, knead and cover it to redden it, and use it medicinally to treat intestinal ailments. This was the predecessor of folk black tea making. The Dianhong tea-making craft embodies a rich and profound tea-culture heritage; it is the crystallization of the practice and wisdom of vast numbers of tea farmers, an important representative among China's black tea-making crafts, and holds considerable social and cultural value.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Dianhong tea craft centers on Fengqing County, covering townships and towns such as Fengshan, Dasi, Mengyou, Sanchahe, Xueshan, Lushi, Xiaowan, Luodang, and Yaojie. The inheritors fall into two types: technical staff in the factories bring the craft into mechanized production, while village masters keep the traditional handwork.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship · Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship · Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Thus, different inheritors can produce Dianhong teas of different tastes. The Dianhong tea inheritors are mainly divided into two types: one is the main technical staff of the Dianhong Group, who have already skillfully applied the inherited craft to mechanized production; the other is the tea-making masters of small-scale folk production, who likewise master the essence of the traditional Dianhong tea-making craft. The two types of inheritors complement each other and jointly promote the transmission and development of this heritage item. In recent years, as Dianhong tea's worldwide renown keeps rising, its traditional making craft has high cultural interpretive value because consumers trace it back to its origins. Zhang Chengren (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in July 1967, a native of Fengqing County, Yunnan Province. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item 'Black Tea Making Craft (Dianhong Tea-Making Craft).' Dianhong tea-making technician. Over more than thirty years in the craft, he has adhered to the company's master-apprentice transmission model, earnestly explored and practiced the productive protection of Dianhong tea, emphasized the combination of theory and practice, and completed scientific research achievements such as 'Application of Soil Testing and Formula Fertilization Technology in Tea Gardens,' 'Collection, Preservation, and Application of Tea Plant Germplasm Resources,' 'Collection, Preservation, and Application of Tea Plant Germplasm Resources,' 'Preliminary Study on Application of Soil Testing and Formula Fertilization Technology in Fengqing Tea Gardens,' and 'Preliminary Study on Soil Nutrient Status of Tea Gardens of Yunnan Dianhong Group,' and developed famous Dianhong tea products such as 'Classic 58' and 'China Red.'

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Wang Chang 05-2849
• Zhang Chengren 05-2850
• Lin Hong
• Yu Danhua

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Black Tea Processing Craftsmanship (Fengqing, Yunnan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhang Chengren · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗